Human prostate cancer vaccines – proposed mechanisms of action and future combinatorial treatment strategies

摘要

Prostate cancer (PCa) is responsible for the deaths of more than 33,000 American men annually. Once PCa has become metastatic there is no curative treatment. Oncologists worldwide are becoming increasingly convinced that alternative therapies to chemotherapy and radical prostatectomy need to be explored. Cancer vaccines (CaVacs) that promote the cancer patient’s own immune system to develop a tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated immune attack have been investigated in clinical trials with modest yet encouraging results. Here we look at the rationale behind different prostate CaVacs and propose key immune events that are likely to contribute to the efficacy of each vaccine. Finally, we prognosticate upon what improvements may be required to generate more effective CaVacs in the future with full consideration of the mechanisms of action.